In an era marked by escalating sovereign debt crises, looming environmental and demographic disasters, and the erosion of traditional geopolitical dominance, governments worldwide have embraced ‘growth-first’ as a core policy doctrine.
This global enthusiasm for growth has returned with renewed vigor, accompanied by expectations that may exceed realistic boundaries. But what if this relentless pursuit of growth is part of the problem rather than the solution?
Amid this ongoing debate, Daniel Susskind’s book ‘Growth: A Reckoning’ offers a thoughtful compass guiding readers from enthusiastic advocacy to a deeper and more mature understanding of the most complex economic issues of our time.
From the long stagnation to calls for degrowth
Susskind takes readers on a historical journey, beginning with thousands of years of ‘long stagnation,’ during which economic progress was slow or nearly nonexistent.
Then, with the spark of the Industrial Revolution, growth accelerated at an unprecedented pace, becoming a shared global aspiration after World War II, measured by annual GDP growth rates.
However, the picture is not entirely positive. While this growth lifted millions out of poverty and advanced technological progress, it also exposed its darker side: alarming environmental degradation and a widening inequality gap.
Out of these concerns emerged an anti-growth intellectual movement that gained momentum since the 1972 ‘Limits to Growth’ report, culminating today in ‘degrowth’ currents that explicitly call for curbing or even reversing economic expansion to save the planet.
Ideas first: redefining the engine of prosperity
Susskind rejects the idea of surrendering to degrowth calls, arguing that the solution lies not in abandoning progress but in redirecting it.
Here, he presents his central thesis, which forms the core of the book: the true driver of long-term economic growth is not merely the accumulation of labor and capital, but ‘ideas.’